


Sleep; Perchance to Dream

by Rosesdancinginmymind (orphan_account)



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-13
Updated: 2014-04-25
Packaged: 2018-01-08 14:54:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 19,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1133995
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/Rosesdancinginmymind
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Post 3x11, Emma and Regina have been having trouble sleeping. Both know a piece of their heart is missing. Will they be reunited? (Established SQ as a couple pre 3x11) Snow/Regina friendship</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

_“I’ll always love you I promise” Emma whispers to Regina as they stand by the town line. Regina holds back a sob wishing that could be true. She steps forward before taking Emma’s hands in her own._

_“When this curse comes we won’t have existed Emma. You won’t remember us, you won’t remember me. I, your family, we’ll all just be stories”_

_“No Regina, please there has to be another way” Emma pleads._

_“I wish there was Emma but you and Henry need to escape, you need to take care of each other and one day I will come back for you I promise”_

_“I won’t know you” Emma sobs._

_“I guess I’ll just have to find a way to get you to fall in love with me” Regina says through a broken smile._

_“Don’t take too long Regina. I know you say I won’t remember but my heart will know someone’s missing”_

_“I love you Emma” Regina says knowing there isn’t much time. She quickly pulls Emma to her for one last kiss. She takes as much time as she can savouring the taste of lips against her own and the feel of hands clinging tightly around her waist._

_She pulls back with a reluctant frown before gesturing for Henry to join them, “You two are the reason for happiness and the curse is going to take that away but my gift to you is good memories, a good life for you and Henry, one where you’ll never have given him up, you’ll always have been together” her voice trails off on the last word. Together. That’s all she wanted, her and Emma together._

_“It won’t be real” Emma says with a frown that breaks Regina’s heart all over again._

_“The past won’t but the future will be and for you to have one I need to let you go”_

_Emma quickly pulls her in for another tight hug as she whispers into Regina’s ear, “Just know that I love you, no matter what I remember I love you and I will save you. I will get you back and we will be together. I love you. I love you” she repeats it, her words swallowed by tears as she says goodbye._

_“I love you too” Regina whispers back for what she hopes is not the last time._

_The last thing she sees before she turns away is a tear streaked face climbing into a yellow bug._

It’s Snow who notices. It’s Snow who sees that Regina always takes watch and that she won’t sleep in the day. It’s Snow who sees that Regina is exhausted, that she needs to sleep. No-one else dares tell that to the obviously fatigued queen. No-one knows what to say to her.

They used to fear her for her evil. Now they look at her as she fails to control her tears and can only offer pity and sympathy. They all see the dark circles under her eyes and the way she falls further and further behind as they journey forth through the land, unwilling to take the rest she so clearly needs.

It’s when they make camp at the end of the first week in a parcel of land they can only hope is safe that Snow walks over to where Regina is sitting by herself. Since they arrived back the other woman hasn’t spoken a word, she just follows and cries lost in her thoughts of people she’s lost. She won’t let them in, she won’t let them help her and Snow can’t sit back and watch Regina collapse in on herself anymore. She still believes that they will all be reunited with Emma and Henry and she knows deep in her heart that the person they’ll both want to see more than anything is Regina. No matter what Regina thinks she isn’t alone, she has people who will help her if she’ll only let them but Snow knows her better than the rest of them. She knows Regina won’t be the one to make the first move, not when it comes to this, she knows it has to be her who does this.

So she sits down next to the silently crying woman. “Regina?” she asks in concern, “Do you want to talk?”

Regina simply looks through her before resting her head on her knees and giving back into her sobs. Snow frowns, in all of her days she’s never seen the woman look so broken. Grief stabs through her own heart as she pictures her daughter and grandson, she wonders where they are, if they are happy, if they are safe. At the least this time she knows they’re alive and that they have each other. _One day they’ll come back to us_ she needs to believe this, she needs her faith in order to carry on in this land they were forced to return to, a land she knows is not Regina’s home and is not her own because it is missing two vital pieces.

She sighs at the other woman’s silence before putting an arm around Regina’s shaking shoulders. At the motion Regina flinches before looking up in confusion.

“I miss them too Regina, not like you do I know but you aren’t alone so please don’t let yourself think that. Let us help you because one day we will see Emma and Henry again and I want you to be there for that” she explains, “And you need to sleep” she adds quietly.

“I can’t” Regina says.

Snow blinks in surprise at the hoarse gravelly words that finally emerge from Regina’s lips. “What?”

“I can’t sleep” she clarifies.

“Why?” Snow asks though she has a feeling she knows the answer.

“Because I see her face, I see her face as she gets into that car begging me to stop her or to have another way and I didn’t. I don’t, Snow I don’t have another way. I promised her, I promised I would never leave her, that I would never let her go and I did. I let her go. And all I can see when I try and sleep is her face begging me not to” Regina sobs. “I can’t sleep because I don’t want to dream”

Snow lets her tears loose as Regina speaks, the heartbreak palpable in the air and for a few moments they just let themselves be two women united in grief, crying over Emma. Snow feels Regina’s head loll against her shoulder and she releases a shuddering breath as she begins to sob with the former queen. Neither one of them are queens in this moment nor are they even Snow White and Regina, they’re just two people bound by the loss of a person they loved.

It’s Snow who recovers first lifting Regina’s head up forcing the other woman to look at me, “I know it hurts. I know how it feels to constantly see that face looking back at me but you had to let her go or we would all have died. You’re a hero Regina because you saved your family and one day they will come back to you but you need to be strong and I know you can be. And on those days when you don’t feel you are I’ll be here, we’ll all be here for you to lean on. Just please let us help. Sleep” she says the last word softly feeling Regina fall into her offered hug resting her head against Snow’s shoulder once more, “Do you think she’ll hate me?”

The quiet question barely reaches Snow’s ears and when it does it sends a fresh bout of guilt and grief through her, “Regina she could never hate you. She loves you”

“Always” Regina mumbles more to herself.

Snow nods with a painful smile as she begins to run her hands through Regina’s hair remembering how once upon a time her stepmother would do the same to comfort her. Much has changed since then and the woman before her is her stepmother no longer, she’s her daughter’s true love, a woman who Snow has seen battle with redemption before becoming a hero, she’s someone Snow is glad is in her family. Much has changed between them since the days when Regina would soothe Snow to sleep but she still remembers the words Regina would whisper to her, she repeats them now, “Sleep perchance to dream”

_The two women rest together in their bed, Regina curled tightly into Emma’s side holding onto her as best she can. Emma wakes suddenly jostling her._

_“Em what’s wrong?” Regina asks groggily._

_“I just, I dreamt you were gone” Emma says as she gulps, her heart aching miserably at the thought._

_“I’m right here Emma. I’ll always be here” Regina reassures her reaching up to play with golden curls._

_Emma wraps her arms back around Regina and feels the weight of the woman in her arms. She takes a deep breath inhaling the scent of her, reassuring herself that she is not alone, that Regina is with her. She doesn’t dare shut her eyes in case the woman slips away from her._

_Regina frowns shifting herself up to look deep into the eyes she loves, “Sleep Em, sleep; perchance to dream” she whispers caressing Emma’s cheek._

_Emma looks at her, “What if I don’t want to dream?”_

_Regina sighs, “Trust me Emma your dreams will be good”_

_“How do you know?”_

_“Because I’ll be here to make sure they are”_

_Emma smiles before letting Regina play with her hair and rub her back until she feels drowsiness creep over her. “I love you Regina” she mumbles as she falls asleep._

_Regina smiles, “I love you too Emma. Always” she whispers kissing her on her forehead. She doesn’t go back to sleep. Instead she holds on to Emma, watching her sleep and wishing her good dreams._

Emma wakes with a start in her New York City apartment. She sits up her hand reaching out on instinct only to hit empty air. She dreamt of her again, the woman soothing her to sleep. Her heart pangs in her chest, a feeling she’s been having since the dreams began, a feeling like something is missing.

She wishes she knew who this mystery woman was. She wishes that the love she feels in the dream didn’t hurt so much when she woke up to nothing.

“Whoever you are I’ll find you” Emma whispers to the night sky.

She flops down on the pillows hoping sleep will come to her once more.

“Sleep; perchance to dream” she hears whispered to her in a rich deep voice that instantly soothes her. She frowns wondering where it came from before letting that voice whisk her back to dreams. 


	2. Chapter 2

_A white mansion looms before her and her heart beats nervously in her chest. She looks down to see a red jacket she doesn’t remember owning. Her feet guide her to a white door with a golden 108 emblazoned on it. The number sends a shiver down her spine as she runs her fingers over the painted wood._

_Her fingers hover over the doorbell and her stomach flips. Nerves? Yes, but also something else, perhaps excitement? All she knows is that her heart is guiding her to the doorbell as if what’s behind it will be the answer to all her questions._

_A rich smell wafts through the air. She takes a deep breath and smiles at the scent of apples. It reminds her of something, someone. It’s a scent that makes her happy and yet tells her that something is missing. A tear rolls down her cheek as she smells the apples wondering why it hurts so much to think about._

_Once more her fingers dance down towards the doorbell. She’s about to press down when she hears a song begin to play through the air. She frowns as her body begins to move backwards from the door. No, she thinks as she tries to fight it, as her heart begs her to stay here by this door but she can’t._

Emma’s eyes snap open and she hits the snooze on her alarm turning off the song that plays, the one that took her from her dream. She rubs her face tiredly still picturing the house she saw. It was unlike any she knows. Hell, she knows she certainly wouldn’t find a house as fancy and big as that in her neighbourhood.

She frowns as she sniffs the air. _Apples_ she thinks curiously. The scent seems to come from the other side of the bed. She rolls over and her arms wrap around a pillow on instinct as if they know a body should be there instead.

Emma yawns wondering why that dream made her feel so desperate, so lost, until these dreams started she was happy or at least she remembers being happy and now since the first one a few days ago all she feels is like she’s lost something, something important.

She sits up upon hearing her son begin to move around the apartment, her signal that it definitely is time to get up. Emma shakes her head, loose curls flying everywhere as she tries to brush off the lingering scent of apples and that feeling in her chest. She looks down to a photo of her and Henry taken in some diner on the road, she can’t remember where. She grins at the sight of their smiling faces and tries to remember who took the picture. _Must have been a waitress_ she thinks with a shrug upon coming up with nothing.

She stands up slowly stretching out her sore muscles before walking in to the kitchen, “Morning Henry”

“Morning Mom”

Her ears ping at the word. He always calls her that and yet for some reason this morning it feels odd. _“Mom! Mama!”_  she hears the words echo in her head, certainly her son’s voice and yet she knows instinctively that only one of the words were aimed at her. _What the hell is going on?_ She thinks wishing she could shake off this feeling.

“Mom, are you okay?” Henry asks in concern. He’s never seen his mother look so lost in her own head before. She shakes her head before blinking and looking back at him with a smile, “Sure kid, I guess I just had a weird dream”

“Again?” he asks remembering how his mom had mentioned a strange dream a couple of days ago.

“Yeah”

“What’s so weird about it?”

“It’s not the same one, they’re similar but it’s like they’re dreams but not dreams”

He scrunches his nose up in confusion at her, “What?”

“It’s like their memories or something kid. Don’t worry about it. I problem just need to get a good night’s sleep and they’ll stop”

“Sure Mom” he replies even though he can’t help but worry. Over the past few days he’s noticed how his Mom has looked sadder somehow, as if she suddenly lost something that he never knew was there. “Hey Mom, were you dating anyone?” he asks.

“No” she answers thinking of a brunette soothing her to sleep with four words that she’d never known until a few days ago but now she cannot seem to sleep without.

He frowns at her saddened expression wondering what it is that she’s thinking about. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing kid” she says doing her best to shake off the ghost of the memory so she can start her day. “Don’t worry Henry, I’m fine” she adds upon looking at his worried expression. He’s a great kid, her son, always concerned about her like she is for him. It’s always just been the two of them and so they know how to look out for each other. “So pancakes or waffles?” she asks with a grin as she sets up a cup of coffee.

“Pancakes” Henry says before looking at his mom curiously, “What are you doing?”

“Making breakfast”

“Why are you making coffee? You never drink coffee” he points out.

She frowns before seeing that he’s right, that alongside her two cocoa mugs she’s begun setting up a cup of coffee. A chill runs down her spine as she empties the mug and places it in the sink before returning to the pancakes and cocoa. As she cooks she shoots glances at the mug wondering why her mind’s first instinct was to make coffee.

_Regina frowns as her hand reaches out to hit an empty bed. She sits up rubbing her eyes before searching for the blonde who was definitely there the night before. This was the first night she allowed Emma to sleep over and instantly she panics. What if it was too soon? What if Emma snuck out regardless? A tear rolls down her cheek at the thought. She never meant to fall so deeply and so quickly for Emma but she knows she has._

_Footsteps sound outside her door and she looks up hopefully, “Emma?” she asks in a frightened whisper._

_Emma hipchecks the door and smiles nervously at her, “I uh made you coffee” she says holding up the two mugs in her hands._

_“You made me coffee” Regina repeats with a relieved smile. She stayed. She stayed and she made coffee. Her heart flutters in her chest knowing that Emma wants to be here and that she knows she needs her coffee in the morning. She takes the mug from Emma with a grateful mug before greeting her with a warm and joyful kiss, “Good morning Emma”_

_“Great morning Regina” Emma replies with a grin as she slides back under the covers._

Charming walks over to the two women, who are separated from the rest of the group, carrying some water for his wife and Regina. His wife has after all been gone a while, he knows Regina would not hurt her now for Emma and Henry’s sake, but back in this land where everything is so uncertain he doesn’t want anyone to be off on their own.

“Hey” he says alerting Snow to his presence as he approaches, “I brought you something to drink”

She takes it with a nod before looking down to the sleeping woman in her arms. Mercifully Regina has stayed asleep, she knows no matter how much Regina might have tried to ignore it, to fight it, that she needs this sleep. She only hopes her rest is a peaceful one. She knows in her heart it isn’t. She knows from her own dreams which are filled with the pieces of memories she has of her daughter that Regina’s sleep is more painful than it is healing.

“Is she alright?” he asks sitting down beside her.

“Are any of us?” Snow asks in reply and her frowns before putting his arm around his wife. “We’ll get them back Snow”

“I hope so”

“I know so. We needed faith for the first curse, we had to believe she would return to us and she did and she will again”

“Things are different now Charming”

He gives her a knowing look before flickering his gaze down to the slumbering Regina, “I know that Snow but we’re all going to have to be strong for each other, we’re all going to need to believe, to work together in order to find a way to get our family back”

“Do you think it can be broken?” she asks quietly.

It’s not Charming who answers. It’s Regina, her voice thick with sleep, her heart heavy with the memory of happiness, of what she lost but will get back, “It can and it will” she says in a determined voice.

“Regina, you’re up” she says in surprise, she really thought the woman might sleep a little longer. She certainly needs it.

“Yes dear” Regina knows full well she didn’t sleep for as long as she should. She slept enough to gather the strength she needs to carry on but she couldn’t stay there not in her dreams. She used to avoid sleep because of the dreams her guilty conscience would create. Now her dreams are memories, are a retreat to happiness but she can’t let herself stay there long for fear she might choose to stay forever, to remain wrapped in that fine echo of joy.

_“It won’t be real”_

It’s Emma’s words that stop her, the memory of her voice on that day. It’s the dreams that her heart conjures up that remind her of what she wants. It’s her mind that makes her wake up because she knows it isn’t real. To stay there would be wrong, would be committing herself to the worse prison she could make for herself – a false delusion. No, she doesn’t want that, what she wants is her family back and she will find a way to make that happen.


	3. Chapter 3

Upon hearing Regina’s determination Snow smiles. That tone means Regina still has hope and that maybe there is a way to save them all from this nightmare. She turns to her former step-mother now her daughter’s true love, “What do you want to do?”

Regina looks at her confused, “I thought you were the queen dear?”

“I am but I want our family back and to do that I think you need to lead” Snow explains. She has no plan after all, no magic, no knowledge of magic that could help them, Regina on the other hand is their salvation.

“People won’t like it”

Snow smiles at her and shakes her head, “People can surprise you Regina, now what do you want to do?”

Regina chews her lip. She is of course used to leadership having been groomed for power her entire life but her motivations were selfish. Now this is for her family, it is for everyone. It’s a new feeling for her to know that she is trusted by people who used to despise her, that unlike her quest to bring Daniel back she is not alone, that they support her. She wishes she had the strength to say this in words to Snow but she is not there yet, maybe in time, instead she offers her a small grateful smile.  

Snow understands of course, she’s always known that there is more to Regina than her surface masks, she has learned from Emma that one must look for the quirks and intricacies of her facial expressions to see the truth. She knows what her offer of trust and support means to Regina. It means the same thing that it did to Snow herself many years ago, it was a refuge from isolation, a chance of family and friendship that would prove invaluable.

“I want to go to my palace” Regina announces as a plan forms in her mind. It’s not much of one but it’s a start.

“Your palace?”

“It’s closer and we’ll have access to magic, it should be a good base for us to form a plan” Regina replies before standing. “Now let’s go get our family back”

Snow nods and Charming helps her up, “Are you sure about this?” he asks after Regina has begun walking back towards the rest of the group. Given the nature of his daughter’s relationship with Regina, he has slowly learned to see the difference between the Evil Queen and Regina, he knows that Regina is not the same woman she was. Yet he is reticent about giving her power, what if the loss of Emma and Henry sends her backwards? With a sigh he realises this is exactly why Snow is right, why Regina needs to know she has their support. He thinks of Henry and Emma out there somewhere, he knows that no matter what when they come back they’ll want to come back to Regina. For them he will do his best to support her.

“Yes Charming” Snow answers his question with absolute faith. She believes that Regina can lead, can help them. She knows her husband. He has the same fear that Regina does, that power could send her spiralling into darkness but things are different now. She wants Regina to know they trust her and perhaps then she will trust in herself.

Regina walks on ahead of them considering what Snow’s offer truly means. It’s an olive branch she wasn’t expecting, one she would never have expected and especially not from Snow. Power frightens her somewhat, the thirst for it fuelled her vengeance and she doesn’t want to be that person again. She takes a deep breath and pictures Emma and Henry. This was one of the tricks Archie taught her, to picture a happy memory, one that reminded her of the love and hope in her life. She needs her memories now more than ever.

The walk through the forest is not an easy one. The group are lucky that Regina’s palace is only a short trek. A few grumbled about her taking charge but upon seeing Snow’s trust in her they begrudgingly accepted the shift in leadership. Most are so tired that the prospect of a place to sleep is enough to make them follow. The land after all is not what it was, the curse destroyed much and what was left has been ravaged by ogres.

The assembled group walk in silence for the most part to avoid drawing attention to themselves. Regina is up front with Snow and Charming close behind. Trailing them is Hook, Neal, Belle, Granny and Ruby, behind them Tink, Blue, Archie and the dwarves. They don’t know where everyone else landed, they haven’t come across the others from the town yet. No-one speaks of them other than in low fearful tones. They don’t want to fear the worst but days without hearing them only heightens their worries for their friends and fellow townspeople.

Snow had tried to ask Regina a few days ago only to receive no answer aside from a haunted look. Now though she tries again, “Regina” she whispers until the other woman turns around, “Everyone else, where are they?”

Regina gulps audibly before frowning as she thinks of her friend Kathryn, of Henry’s friend the Zimmer twins, “I don’t know” she admits sadly, “The curse brought them over but they could be over. We just have to hope they still survive”

“I’m sure they will” Snow says in support, “Once we get to your castle we can send word out”

Regina looks at her before back to the exhausted group who have been traveling for days, “Snow I think everyone will just want to rest first”

Snow’s about to protest but she can hear Belle’s quiet sniffling and the heavy and slowing footsteps of the dwarves, she nods in agreement as they step forward over a ridge. Regina stops with a shaky gasp and Snow follows her gaze to see the dark palace. It’s mostly in tact but still seeing it again sends shivers down Snow’s spine.

For Regina it’s a place of hidden memories, of a time she wishes she could forget. It holds memories of entrapment, of isolation, of a marriage she never wanted. It reminds her of darkness and fear, of power and desperation.

“We’re home” Snow says sadly and bitterly.

Regina simply looks at her with sorrowful eyes, “No we’re not”

_“My parents want to go back” Emma announces as they sit on Regina’s couch one afternoon. Regina nearly chokes on her coffee in surprise, “What?”_

_“That’s what they wanted this afternoon, they’ve got Anton growing beans so they go to the Enchanted Forest”_

_“They want to go back” Regina repeats slowly, an unsettling feeling growing in her stomach._

_“Yeah they keep going on about it being their home and repairing the land and how it will be better for us and Henry”_

_“How? I thought you said it was ravaged by ogres. It’s not a safe place for him Emma”_

_“Trust me Regina I know. Henry will want to go but he’s only 11, all he sees is being a prince and riding horses. I don’t think he sees what he’d be losing. Plus this land is the only home I’ve had. That place just isn’t”_

_“Do you want to go back?”_

_“Do you?”_

_“Emma”_

_“I’m serious. You cursed everyone here to Maine for a reason Regina”_

_Regina sighs sadly, “I-, that land Em, it wasn’t my happy ending. Henry’s book makes it look like a land of happiness and hope but for me it just wasn’t”_

_Emma smiles softly before wiping away a stray tear from Regina’s cheek, “I don’t want to go there either”_

_“But your family” Regina begins._

_“Regina, you and Henry, you are my family and you’re my home. I will go wherever you go, that’s my home”_

_Regina smiles before gently kissing Emma, “It’s the same for me Emma. In that land I was alone, all I had was pain and misery. My home is with you and with Henry”_

_Emma smiles lovingly at her as Regina rests her head over Emma’s heart, “All my life I never really had a home but as long as I have you and Henry I have one. I love you Regina”_

_“I love you too and I promise you will always have a home Emma because you’ll always have me and Henry”_

As Regina stares at a land that is decidedly not home Emma wakes with the word “Maine” stumbling from her sleepy lips. She frowns as she thinks of her dream, of how real it felt. She wishes she knew who this woman in her dream was, with her in her sleep she feels so happy and so loved. Every morning she wakes up and in spite of the life she has with Henry she can’t feel like this woman is missing, that somehow she must have lost a love she can’t remember having. She sighs shaking her head before getting ready for work.

Later when Henry is getting ready for bed she pulls out their map. It’s a tradition of theirs, at least twice a year they take a trip somewhere and put a pin on their map of America to show where they’ve been, to show the life and places they’ve explored so far.

She scours the map wondering if it holds the answer only to find Maine unpinned.


	4. Chapter 4

_Her feet dangle off the wooden slats of a play castle. She looks out over the beach feeling the cool fresh Maine air wash over her. She can see why Henry likes it here, it’s a good place to think, to watch the waves and relax. It’s her son’s favourite places and it’s one of her own here in Storybrooke too._

_She smiles as she watches Henry play around near the waves. Earlier they’d built a sand replica of the castle she now rests on. It’s old, it’s a little rickety but it feels almost like home, it’s safe and happy, a refuge for her family to come to and enjoy a sunny afternoon. Henry waves at her from near the edge of the beach, the sun shining off the waves behind him. Emma grins before waving back, “Don’t go in the water kid, you’re not getting in my bug dripping wet!”_

_He laughs at her as a rich honeyed voice says, “He’s fine Emma”_

_Emma turns now registering the warm presence of a brunette in a white shirt and short black shorts revealing soft tan legs normally hidden by pencil skirts and slacks. She blinks in surprise, “It’s you. You’re here” she says reaching up to touch a dark chocolate curl only for her hand to hit some sort of invisible wall._

_The woman smiles widely at her, “Of course I am Emma. I promised remember?”_

_Emma frowns in confusion before she says slowly “You promised you would never leave me”_

_“And I never will” the other promises with a warm smile._

Emma wakes feeling a sudden sadness in her heart. She sits up with that promise lingering in her mind. She leans forward resting her head in her hands, _just a dream_ she thinks and yet it felt so real. _Who are you?_ Emma asks herself as she tries to place the mystery brunette. She can’t just be a figment of her imagination, she feels too real, like a ghost of a love past.

She can bring the memory of Henry playing by the beach to her mind instantly. It was from last year’s vacation, down on the East Coast making sandcastles. She can picture the waves as clearly as if she were there yesterday.

The castle though is new. Hell she can’t think of any place she’s been or seen that had a play castle as old looking as that one. And yet there’s something familiar about sitting on old wood and chatting to her son over a book.

She sighs remembering her plan to ask Henry if he knew anything, maybe he remembered something she had forgotten.

Her mind drifts back to the woman in her dream again. It’s the first time she’s been there with Henry. It felt like they were a family sitting there on that beach and yet she cannot find her in her real memories of that vacation. People don’t just magically appear in our heads right? _I must know her from somewhere, she just has to be real_ Emma thinks as she wanders through to the kitchen to find her son already dressed for school and eating breakfast.

“Hey kid”

“Hey Ma, you’re up late”

“I know, sorry Henry”

“Are you still having those weird dreams?” he asks taking in his mother’s almost sad expression.

“Yeah, hey Henry can I ask you something?” she asks sitting down across from him.

“Sure”

“Have we ever been to Maine?”

“Maine?” he asks with a puzzled frown. The name sends a faint pang of recognition through his mind and heart. He doesn’t know why but the name makes him think of love and fairytales. Maine makes him think of a name that for some unknown reason fills him with sorrow and a sense of loss. “We’ve never been to Maine” he says sadly.

She frowns at his miserable expression, “Henry, are you okay?” she never meant to upset him but she can tell that the name elicits the same reaction in him as it does her.

“Yeah, I just, I don’t know, when you said it I just felt sad like we’d left something irreplaceable behind”

“I know kid. I just wish I could remember what it was”

He smiles half-heartedly, “Me too”

Emma looks over to their map and its pins, “How about for our next vacation we go on a search?”

“You want to go to Maine”

“Henry I don’t know how to explain it. It just feels like I, we have to go there, that we have to at least try and find it” _her_ she thinks knowing the brunette is out there somewhere and maybe just maybe that somewhere is Maine.

* * *

Regina stands outside her chamber door. She’s been there for the last hour at least. Everyone else she assigned to various other chambers leaving her with just her own, a place she never wanted to return to.

She shudders as she stands in the long open hallway before walking over to look out across the devastated land. She can’t explain it but something feels off. She knew that the curse would have destroyed the land and yet her castle is still standing. It doesn’t make sense.

Then there’s the magic. She can feel her own magic swirling like a dark temptress within her veins. She won’t use it, not until she absolutely must. She’s saving it so she can get a message to her son and Emma, to let them know that even if they don’t remember that she does and that she will get back to them.

What troubles her is not her magic but the presence of another’s. She didn’t mention it to the others in case she was wrong and because after their journey they could all use some rest, some time just to sleep. She felt it when they stepped into this castle, the presence of something dark, an unknown magic that truthfully frightens her.

“Is everything okay?” Snow asks pulling her from her thoughts.

“I don’t know” she replies truthfully before elaborating, “I can feel something, like there’s something dark, a danger we can’t see yet”

Snow nods, “As if there’s a storm coming over the horizon”

“You can feel it too?” Regina asks.

“This palace, it shouldn’t be in this kind of condition. It’s too” she struggles to search for the word so Regina finishes the thought for her, “Untouched”

“Exactly”

“It shouldn’t be this way. It should look at least a little damaged”

“Someone’s here” Snow says definitively, not a question because she just knows in her gut that a threat is lurking round the corner. She just hopes they’re all prepared in time for when it comes.

“Someone’s here” Regina repeats staring out into the forest searching for any sign of other life, of other survivors from Storybrooke.

“What’s your plan?” After all that has passed between her and her former stepmother Snow still has faith in Regina to have an answer, to be able to save her like she did all those years ago, to be able to save them all like she already did a few weeks ago.

“I want to send something to Henry and Emma”

“You can do that?”

“In my chambers there’s a small looking glass. I’ll be able to send something small through now until I work on a bigger portal so we can get home”

“How will we get home Regina?”

“Emma. If we can get her to believe again, to know she loves me, if we can get her to remember and kiss me then we can restore Storybrooke”

“That will work?”

“Our magic is powerful Snow. We’re yin and yang, light and dark, the saviour and the evil queen, if we wish it, if we can combine our magic again I have faith that we can do it.”

Snow smiles, pleased to see that Regina still has her faith in the power of true love. She knows that has to do with Emma and with Henry, both of whom fixed the former queen’s heart. “So you want to send the book through to get them to see our stories again”

Regina nods, “Henry always believes” she says sadly, her eyes watering as she thinks of her little boy clutching a book in his arms.

Snow nods, “So why haven’t you gone in?”

Regina frowns, “I can’t”

The other woman frowns in sympathy, she knows what the room means to Regina, what kind of memories it holds for her, “How about we go in, grab the looking glass and then sleep somewhere else”. It’s a band-aid but it’s all she has to offer.

Regina knows this. She also knows that only two things can ease her pain and they’re in New York. She turns to Snow knowing that she really doesn’t want to be by herself tonight, not in this castle and not in these chambers. “After you”


	5. Chapter 5

The air startles them both as they step into Regina’s former chambers. She didn’t know what she was expecting but it wasn’t this. Regina shudders as an eerie feeling washes over her. She wishes she could pinpoint exactly what was unsettling her so much. Snow steps closer to her as they walk further into the icy chambers.

“What is that?” Snow asks trying to search for some physical reason for the uneasiness that fills the room.

Regina sighs before admitting one of the things she hates to admit, uncertainty, “I don’t know. I wish I did. I just can’t right now.” She’s too tired. Her body aches. Her mind floods with memories of moments she’d rather forget with every step she takes in here. She wishes she knew but right now she just can’t. All she wants is the looking glass so she can let Henry and Emma know that she’s looking for them. They might not remember but she remembers her promise never to let Emma be alone, never to leave her, and she will keep it.

Snow nods in understanding, “Maybe in the morning it will be clearer”

For now both women are willing to let that hope, misguided or not, carry them, “Maybe” Regina agrees making her way over to her vanity. She picks up a small handheld mirror that Rumple gave her when she first began her magic lessons. Her heart pangs at the thought of her old teacher. Most of the time they switched between being adversaries and uneasy allies but she never thought he would die. Although she loathes to admit it, a part of her misses him. She knows right now he’d be able to tell her what to do. She runs her thumb over the gilded mirror praying it will do what she needs.

Snow takes her arm gently, “Let’s go” she coaxes wishing to get out of the dark chamber as soon as possible. She leads them out of the room noticing how Regina’s gaze never leaves the looking glass.

Charming looks up with a surprised expression as the two enter, “Snow?” he asks but she silences him with her hand, “Just for tonight” she says in explanation as Regina poofs up a spare bed with her magic. She murmurs another enchantment and an exact replica of Henry’s book appears in her hands.

She flips to the inside front cover with a quill in her hand ready to write a message when she freezes. What should she write? She can’t say too much because they don’t remember her. Too much would scare them off. She just needs something to act as a trigger, something to guide them. She thinks of her mother’s spell book and smiles before writing just one word: Regina.

_Emma. Henry. She pictures the two of them in the New York apartment she gave them. She thinks of their address to guide the portal. She concentrates on the image of her meeting her Saviour for the first time and Henry encouraging Emma to believe._

She smiles briefly as she pictures their faces and lets her love for them and her hope to see them again send the book through.

Snow and Charming watch on hopefully as the looking glass’s magic swirls around the book and sucks it through.

“Did it work?” Snow asks.

Regina looks up with a small smile, “I hope so” she replies before the exhaustion of the day and the added exertion of magic drag her into the lull of sleep.

* * *

Emma comes home from a long day at her job at the bail bonds firm and rubs her neck tiredly. She stretches out her sore muscles looking forward to takeout Thursday with her on and then a nice long bath to soothe her aching body. She had to chase down four guys today and then after that fill out all the paperwork that follows a capture. _I could really do with a good night’s sleep tonight_ she thinks.

“Hey Henry” she says cheerily smiling at her son and ruffling his hair. “Good day at school?” she asks sitting down across from him as he finishes off his Math homework.

“It was alright” he yawns.

“You okay kid?” she asks worriedly.

“Yeah I’m just tired. After you brought up Maine yesterday I had these really weird dreams”

“What kind of dreams?” she asks. If Henry’s having similar ones to her then maybe it isn’t all in her imagination. Maybe what she feels is missing isn’t just all in her mind but is in fact something real, some long lost memory they’ve forgotten and need to uncover.

“I don’t know. I just kept hearing this voice singing a lullaby to me”

“You sure it wasn’t me kid?”

“No, it wasn’t one I recognised. Plus I know your voice Ma. This voice was different”

“How so?”

He shrugs, “I don’t know. It was a dream. It’s probably nothing” he says dismissively and Emma sighs. Henry chews his lip as he thinks of the voice. It wasn’t his Ma’s and yet it didn’t feel strange to hear the rich and warm voice singing to him. If anything it felt safe. It felt like home which is totally weird right? After all how can he be dreaming of a home he can’t remember? He shakes his head before turning back to his algebra. Thinking about the dream, for some unknown reason, hurts. It makes him feel like he’s missing something.

“Maybe it was” Emma replies, “Did she sound happy?”

He smiles, “Yeah she did”

“That’s good.” Emma says with a smile. Somehow the thought of the woman in pain leaves a resounding sorrow in her chest.

“Do you think she’s the same woman you’re dreaming of? The one you think might be in Maine?” Surely they can’t be dreaming of the same person. Henry pauses wondering if that’s even possible. If it is then maybe she is real.

“I don’t know kid. Who’s to say she isn’t?”

Henry grins, “Maybe we’ll find her”

“Maybe we will” she replies.

He nods before looking over to the kitchen counter, “Oh you got a package”

She looks up at him in confusion, “A package? Did you order something?”

“No I figured you did”

They both share a curious look before walking over to the mysterious parcel. The address sticker on its simple, just Emma’s name and their address. No return address. They exchange another wary and confused look before Emma opens the edge of the thick padded envelope. She gives Henry a suspicious look, “Are you didn’t order something?”

“I think I’d know Ma” he says defiantly and she nods. She can tell when Henry’s lying and this time he certainly isn’t. If anything he looks just as lost as she does. “Why did you think it was me?” he asks.

“Because it’s fairytales” she says pulling the book out of the envelope to show him the ornate hardcover collection. She runs her thumb over the familiar looking gold script as Henry moves to stand next to her. He gasps as he gets a weird sense of deja-vu just from seeing the book.

“What’s up Henry?”

“I don’t know, just it looks really familiar. Did you give me a book like this when I was younger?” he asks.

“No you never had anything like this. We had Grimm’s fairytales a few years back but no I’d remember this book” and yet she can’t deny that like Henry this book stirs up something in her. She holds it in both hands again before feeling a tingle of something. She gasps before dropping the book immediately and staring at her hands. For a moment it felt as if she’d been shocked and then there was just a warmth, a feeling of hope and love that set her heart racing.

As she tries to gather her senses Henry grabs the book before opening it. “Regina” he reads the cursive script in an awestruck whisper. That’s the name he thought of when Emma first mentioned Maine. _She must be real. How else would she have sent this?_ He smiles having confirmation of the woman’s realness before flicking the pages to the first story.

* * *

_“Are you still reading that book?” Emma asks as she flops down next to the brunette on the bed who currently has her head immersed in Henry’s book._

_She frowns as she notices tears rolling down her girlfriend’s cheeks. “Hey” she says as tilts Regina’s head up and away from the fairytales. “What’s wrong?”_

_“Henry’s stories. They just show the Evil Queen stuff” she sniffs._

_Emma closes the book before taking Regina’s chin in her hands, “Henry and I both there’s more to it”_

_“For so long this was all he had Emma. This is all anyone ever thinks!” she huffs in frustration._

_“I know. I know Regina but the people that matter, your family, we know the truth. We know this book doesn’t have all the stories. It gave Henry belief and hope. It gave him enough to bring me to you. The book is just a start Regina. The book led us to the whole truth.”_

_She takes her hands from Regina’s chin just long enough to set the book aside, “That book might tell the story of an evil queen but I’m far more interested in the story I care about and that’s the story of Regina Mills”_

“Regina” Emma whispers into the darkness as she starts awake.


	6. Chapter 6

_Thank you for your reviews and feedback on this story so far. Apologies for any mistakes. Hope you enjoy this next chapter :)_

Regina wakes to the feel of something shaking her shoulder. “Urgh what?” she mutters trying to roll over and back to her fitful slumber.

“Regina” Snow hisses in a panicked tone. It’s that quiet fear that makes Regina wake with a start.

“Snow” she says but Snow places a finger over her mouth to shush her.

“We have to go” she whispers.

“What? We just got here” Regina whispers back feeling alarmed. She can feel her senses crawl as goosebumps shudder up and over her spine. The feeling she had last night is heightened this morning. Something is most definitely wrong. Magic lies rich in the air, dark and sinister creeping over every inch of the castle.

She sits up fully taking in Snow’s wide panicked eyes, “People are already fleeing. Someone’s here Regina”

“Who?”

“We don’t know. Neal and Hook were nearly attacked by flying monkeys. They got away and started alerting everyone else but we need to move. Fast” Snow says tugging insistently on Regina’s hand.

Regina looks around seeing that they are the only ones in the room, “Charming?”

“He’s rounding up everyone else so we can get out. Come on” Snow says puling Regina up. The older brunette stumbles upright before putting a hand to her head as a rush of lightheadedness hits her.

“What’s wrong?” Snow asks in a concerned voice.

“My magic. It feels like it’s being attacked”

“What?”

“It happens when someone puts up a spell meant to ward off other’s magic but if a magic user if already in the building there magic is attacked by the defensive spell” she explains quickly feeling the magic burning under her skin. She feels dizzy and nauseous not unlike when Greg and Tamara trapped her with that cuff only a month ago.

Snow nods taking in Regina’s pale and feverish figure with a worried glance. She squares herself before pulling Regina in closer to help her out, “Okay let’s just get you out of here” she says in a determined voice before pulling them to the doorway.

She peers round the corner to check if the coast is clear before walking them both out into the corridor. She can tell Regina is struggling just to remain conscious with the way the other woman’s head lolls against her shoulder. Snow chews her lip before gentling tapping Regina’s chin, “You’ve got to stay with me Regina”

“Hurts” Regina says weakly feeling her body trying to battle the foreign magic of the defence spell warding the castle. Every nerve ending feels as if it’s on fire and she can feel her mind growing wearier. Snow looks at her worriedly. “Look at me.” Glazed caramel eyes meet her own and she can see in them that Regina is still fighting.

“I’m going to get us out of here but I need you to do something for me. I need you to think of Henry and Emma and I need you to fight the magic okay? Just keep fighting. Can you do that for me?” she asks.

Regina nods weakly, “I’ll try” she mutters doing her best to channel her strength from the love that’s in her heart.

“Hello dears” a voice drawls from behind them and the women freeze, chills running up and down both their spine. Regina feels it before it hits, the spell that holds them in place. Snow attempts to fight, to move forward but when she does the magic keeps her trapped. “Don’t fight” Regina whispers to her, “It’ll make it worse”. It’s taking all her strength just to stay standing. The figure behind them uses her magic to turn them and pull them closer to her.

Snow’s eyes widen at the sight of the green woman with a malicious smirk in front of them. The witch smiles before tutting as she draws closer to Regina, “Oh my dear you don’t look so well” she croons, “You never were good at coping with other magic were you?”

It’s true. The only magic Regina’s only really been compatible with is Emma’s. Normally her magic fights the magic of others like it’s doing right now. With Emma her magic welcomes the light power of the saviour. She assumes it’s part of their connection, that their true love extends even to their magical essences allowing them to coexist and boost each other.

She stands as tall as she can in the face of this unknown enemy. An enemy who apparently knows her well. “Who are you?”

The witch laughs again, “Zelena although most call me The Wicked Witch.”

“Of Oz” Snow finishes having heard the story from her mother. She thought it was just a myth.

“Indeed dear”

“So why are you here?” Snow asks trying to keep this woman talking. She can tell that with each passing moment Regina is getting just a little bit stronger.

“Rumplestiltskin was my mentor. I was going to be the most powerful ruler in all the lands that was until  _you_ came along” she says bitterly with a pointed look at Regina. “After that it all became about the queen” she adds in a mocking tone. “I decided that with or without him I was going to be the most powerful. I knew that I would have to kill the queen so I came to this land. Imagine my surprise when I came here only to find it ravaged by a curse. I took up residence here in this castle. I had a feeling it would pay off. I didn’t even have to lure you all to me. You walked right on here without even thinking that someone else could have taken over. So arrogant and now you’ll pay for it.”

She beckons for two of her monkeys to come over and the sinister creatures slink from the shadows, “Throw them in the prison” she orders before stalking back to look over the land. A victorious grin paints her lips having captured both of the queens.

The monkeys throw them into the prison, the pair of them landing with a hard thump. Snow groans before crawling over to an unconscious Regina.

“We’re going to get out of here Regina” she vows. She’s escaped prisons before and she’ll be damned if they’re going to sit here and wait for the witch to kill them.

* * *

_Emma runs through the cannery with her gun raised. Terror runs through her veins as she moves through the cold building. A man is just behind her but she barely notices. All she cares about is getting to Regina in time._

_She knew something was wrong this morning. Henry knew it too. Luckily they were able to track her down to the cannery. She doesn’t know who took Regina. All she knows is she was kidnapped yesterday afternoon and that she’s in a lot of pain._

_She hears a scream echoing through the building and her blood runs cold. Emma follows the haunting sound until she find Regina strapped to a table and another man looming over her._

_“Ah an audience to see the end of our queen” he says with a vicious grin as he moves to his machine. She shoots it before he can act and lets the man accompanying her run after him. Her body guides her to Regina, unstrapping her and gently lifting her up._

_She places her down on a soft comforter and waits. Another woman enters and waves a wand over her. She tells Emma that Regina will be fine but Emma doesn’t believe it until a few hours later when Regina opens her eyes._

_“Emma” she says in an awestruck voice, her eyes filling with tears. “Y-you saved me?”_

_“Always” Emma says gently brushing a damp cloth over the burns on the other woman’s forehead, “I’ll always save you. I’m your saviour remember?”_

* * *

Emma jolts awake feeling a sting of pain in her heart. She can’t see any physical reason for it. Nothing else hurts, just her heart telling her that something is wrong. She can’t shake that feeling. It’s like a cold shiver down her spine, an ominous warning that danger is lurking.  _Regina_  she thinks remembering her latest dream. She knows it probably sounds ridiculous but she can’t help but feel that Regina needs her help.

“The Saviour” she saysrepeating the term she called herself in the dream. She gasps as she says it, images flooding her mind.  _Carrying Regina out of a fire. Waking Henry from a curse. Saving Regina from angry townspeople. Opening a portal to get rid of the wraith. Carrying her out of the cannery. Watching as Regina puts Henry’s heart back in his body. The three of them hugging at being reunited safe and sound. Discovering Regina unconscious on the floor of the vault after being fooled by Pan. A goodbye at the town line and a promise to always love her_.

She smiles as the memories assault her. “Regina” she whispers reverently feeling joy swamp her heart. That cold feeling remains and she knows in her heart that her queen needs her.

_Always happy to hear what you think. Thanks for reading :)_


	7. Chapter 7

Emma grabs her bag from her closet hurriedly stuffing it with clothes and other essentials. She may not know everything but she knows Regina. _I’m going to make my way back to you Regina I promise_. She doesn’t know how she remembers or what happened to her love after the curse hit. All she knows is that she cannot leave her behind. She has to go back and find Regina, find her family and reclaim her happy ending.

She thought she was happy. She had all those memories Regina gave her and it was like a beautiful dream. Something was always missing though. She remembers telling Regina that the past wouldn’t be real and the brunette responding that her future would be. _Our future will be Regina_. She’s not giving up. She can’t remember everything. She knows who Regina is and that she loves her. She remembers that she has parents and a home. She remembers that being without Regina hurts, it physically hurts and that she can’t imagine the pain Regina must be in. She only hopes that her love is not alone.

Waking up and realising her memories were an illusion was not as painful as one might expect. Yes, it hurts to know that all those happy memories weren’t real. But on the other hand she’s grateful. Regina gave her the best gift anyone’s ever given her, she showed her Henry growing up and the life they could have had. Her memories were of happiness and love. Regina promised not to let her go and leave her and she didn’t. She gave her safety, a home and Henry. She gave her everything and still did not let go. In her dreams Regina was there waiting for her, just like she is out there somewhere waiting for her and Henry to come back to her. No matter what it takes they will get back to Regina.

She may not know where to begin but she has the name Storybrooke, she has Regina and that is enough. She feels that pain in her chest again and knows instinctively that Regina is in danger. She can’t explain it, it’s just a gut feeling. It’s the same way she felt when Regina went missing and fell into Greg Mendell’s hands. It’s a cold feeling in her chest that makes her heart feel heavy and sets off all her alarm bells.

She grabs her bag before walking out into the kitchen where Henry is eating breakfast. He looks at her bag curiously before spotting the expression of determination on his mother’s face. He can’t pinpoint it exactly but something is different.

“Everything okay?” he asks.

“Yeah kid.”

“We’re going to be late” he says finishing his cereal. Normally Emma is up a good half an hour or so earlier.

“You’re not going to school today kid. I was thinking we could take a road trip, like an adventure”

“No school and an adventure with you. Count me in” he says with a mischievous smile. “Where we going? Maine?” he asks. As he says it he thinks of the name Regina again and looks back at the book. _Maybe we’ll find her_ he thinks hopefully. He can’t explain it but something is off and he can’t help but feel like Regina and Maine are their answers.

Emma smiles, “Yep. There’s someone I need to track down there so go pack a bag for a few days okay?”

He nods before jumping down off the stool. He pauses to hug her, “We’re going to look for Regina aren’t we?” he asks knowingly.

Emma tries to swallow the lump in throat that rises at her name. A fresh pang of pain ripples through her as the realisation hits that Henry does not remember her mother. _This must be killing Regina_ she thinks sympathetically. Finally she nods, “Yes Henry, we’re going to find Regina”

Henry looks up in surprise at how Emma says the name. There’s a sense of reverence, hope and love in the name. He chews his lip in thought. He’s never heard her say anyone’s name like that before. Once again he can’t help but wonder who Regina is, and who she is to Emma.

He pulls back, “You’re allowed to be happy Mom.”

“I am happy Henry. I have you and our life is awesome” she replies to reassure him although she knows in her heart of hearts that her happiness is not complete.

He gives her a knowing look, “You need more than me Mom. You need love. And I think you know where we can find it and that’s why we’re going to Maine. That’s okay to admit Mom. I want you to have a happy ending.”

She smiles at him, so proud of his mature and sensitive ways, “Thank you Henry” she says before hugging him again, “Now go on and pack.”

As he runs into his room she smiles before running her hand over his book. She flips it open running her thumb over the familiar handwriting. “Regina” she says again with a small smile on her lips. “Message received. I’m coming home” she whispers before moving back into her room. There’s one last thing she needs to get. She moves to the back of her wardrobe before pulling out her red leather jacket. She grins at the knowledge that Regina let her keep that and the bug. _I knew she secretly loved them_ Emma thinks with a smirk.

* * *

_Regina looks at Emma from behind the bars of her cell. After the curse broke Snow and Charming were insistent about her being locked up ‘for her own safety’ as they put it but she knows the truth. To everyone else she’s a threat._

_Once her parents and son leave Emma walks over to the cell._

_“What are you doing?” Regina asks in surprise._

_Emma gives her a small smile, “They may not believe in you Regina but I do. They aren’t going to be back for hours and I’m not just going to leave you sitting in there. Besides I know a few things about getting people out of jail” she adds with a wink. Her parents took the keys because they assumed that Emma would let her out. In all fairness they were right but they underestimated her abilities as both a former thief and a bailbondsperson._

_Using a bobby pin she cracks the door open before reaching for Regina’s hand. The brunette looks up at her, “You still want me? Even now you know who I am?”_

_Emma reaches for her hand before tugging Regina out of the cell, “I’ve always known who you are. You’re Regina. I love you and that includes your past. Yeah some of it’s pretty horrendous stuff but I don’t care. I love you and I want you. And while my parents are gone I want to hold you.”_

_Regina smiles at her before melting into the offered embrace, “Your parents are right you know? I deserve to be locked up”_

_Emma sighs, “Here’s the thing Regina, you’ve done terrible things I know but you’re trying to change and from what I can tell all those fairytales are about hope and family so why shouldn’t you get a chance at redemption?”_

_Regina grins, “I love you” she says before kissing Emma. “How did you get into that jail cell?”_

_Emma shrugs, “I know a few things. Trust me Regina when you can believe in yourself you can do anything.”_

* * *

Regina stirs groggily on the cold damp floor of the prison cell floor rubbing her head as she sits up slowly.

“Oh thank god” Snow says seeing the other woman wake up. She moves from where she has been examining the cell bars for kinks or weaknesses and kneels down besides Regina, “How you feeling?”

“Better. Stronger” Regina replies. She no longer feels as if the magic is being slowly pulled from her body. Down here in the cells she can tell Zelena’s magic is not as potent. Here her’s is more active and she can feel her strength returning to her body. She looks around noticing that the cells have not changed since her time in this palace. She didn’t visit here often but she recognises this as the cell she kept Charming in all those years ago.

“Good” Snow replies, “We need to find a way out of here.”

“Trust me dear, I have no intention of staying here any longer. I have no doubts that she plans to kill us both and I will not let that happen” she says in a confident voice and Snow smiles hearing the protective tone in Regina’s voice. Regina always has been loyal to her family and honestly Snow is glad she’s a part of that family.

“So how do we get out of here?” Snow asks curiously, “I’ve checked the bars and they’re not going to budge. I’m guessing Zelena will notice if we get out and try to go through the castle. That window is far too high up. There doesn’t look like much of a way out,” _certainly none that I can see anyway_ she thinks with a frown.

Regina smiles at her, “You know what your daughter said to me once? That when we believe in ourselves we can do anything and we are getting out of here Snow. Besides I’m sure your prince is waiting for you.”

Snow grins at her, “I’m sure he is. So is your Saviour” she adds.

Regina nods, “I hope so”

“So I’m open to suggestions. How are we getting out of here?”

Regina smiles feeling the magic buzzing at her fingertips, “Our green friend may have enchanted the rest of the castle but these cells belong to me Snow. They are built with my magic and so they’re protected. She could enchant the castle because it was just an ordinary building and so easily breached. Her magic isn’t as strong here. Plus this is my castle so I know a few shortcuts” she adds with a wink before running her fingers along the wall until she finds what she’s looking for.

Her smile grows wider as she finds the notch in the wall. When she was first married to Leopold she came down here through fear. She used her newfound magic to ensure an escape route just in case she was caught with Rumple. It hadn’t happened so far but if it did she knew she would wind up in one of these cells. The last thing she wanted was to be imprisoned, again. _How ironic_ she thinks bitterly given that the King had found a way regardless to keep her trapped.

Luckily for her the escape she’d built is still hidden in these walls. She didn’t get to use it then but she’s sure as hell going to use it now. After all she has a family to find and people to protect. There’s not a chance that she will let this Zelena threaten the happy ending she’s fought so hard to build.

With a whispered incantation she focuses her magic on the wall. _Believe_ she tells herself remembering Emma’s words knowing her heart’s faith will give her magic the strength it needs to do this. She doesn’t have much energy and she knows that this spell will use up what little magical energy she has in this palace but it will be worth it if they can escape. She smiles as she feels her love for her family channel and finally feels the wall give way.

To anyone else the wall looks unchanged. To her she can now see the tunnel she built that leads right to freedom. She quickly grabs Snow’s hand before pushing her through the wall. The other woman yelps in surprise before Regina jumps through after her.

“What now?” Snow asks quickly standing up and steadying Regina who can feel another wave of dizziness overwhelm her from the spell.

“Now” she says slowly through gritted teeth, “Now we hurry”


	8. Chapter Eight

The drive takes them hours and they still aren't there but it's worth it. Emma doesn't care how long it takes them if it gets them home to Regina, even if Henry doesn't remember yet, they're a family and they will be together.

Over the first hour or two Henry had asked her questions about Maine and Regina, questions Emma wished she could answer but she can't. She stays vague, giving only the truths she knows. She wishes there were more answers she could provide and her memory was clearer. She doesn't know anywhere near as much as she wishes she did but she has enough. She has her memories of Regina and some other bits and pieces. Somehow she knows that finding Regina is the key to unlocking the rest and bringing her family back together.

She wonders whether or not Regina stayed with her parents. She hopes she did. She can't stand the thought of Regina in that world all alone.  _Please Regina, please have stayed with our family_.

As night begins to settle she notices that Henry has fallen asleep. She has memories of her son in his younger years falling asleep like this in long car journeys. She smiles knowing that Regina gave her Henry's real life just with her in the brunette's place. As painful as this must be for Regina, it's the greatest gift Emma has ever received. She can look in her memories and see Henry's childhood, all the moments she missed. It may not have been the real past but those memories are real to her and she's going to treasure them.

She wonders how Henry will feel when he remembers. She hopes he'll feel blessed to have had memories of both his mothers in his childhood. Even if it wasn't a real past Regina gave them a life where they were together, where they were safe and happy. She just hopes Henry will appreciate that gift.

She thinks he will. She looks over once more to the snoring eleven year old and smiles sadly. Regina gave her eleven years of Henry and has missed a year of him herself. She knows the brunette will be able to see the differences in him, how much Henry has grown and changed in the past year. She vows there and then that neither one of them is going to miss any more time.

Emma looks down at the clock in her Beetle knowing it's time to rest for the night. She scans the road knowing that tomorrow they'll get to Maine. Finally she spots an old style B&B and smiles to herself as an image of another B&B flashes behind her eyes. She pulls the Bug in before gently stirring her sleeping son.

"Mom?" he asks groggily.

"Hey kid. We're going to stop here for the night. Come on Henry" she says helping him out of the car.

"Are we in Maine yet?" Henry asks rubbing his eyes as he grabs his backpack.

Emma frowns, "Not yet Henry. We'll get there tomorrow okay?"

"Okay. I wish we were there already" he replies. He wants to see his Mom happy, to see them find whatever it is that's missing. He knows that's Regina, the name that feels like home and lullabies. In the car he dreamt of her. He couldn't picture her clearly but he could hear a voice singing to him, telling him stories and feel the warmth of her as she carried him in her arms. The thing he remembers most about the dream is that he felt loved and safe. He knows those dreams should make no sense because his memories are of Emma. His memories are of a life of him and his Mom but he knows that those dreams mean something.

The answers are so close and he knows it. He can see it in the determination in his Mom's eyes and the red leather jacket she hasn't worn in years. He knows it in the fact that she decided on an impromptu trip to Maine in the middle of the school year. He knows that this in a day's time they'll have answers.

Mother and son walk into the B&B relieved to get a room. Henry collapses instantly on his bed falling asleep before Emma can enter the room. Emma chuckles at her son before pulling a blanket over him. "Sleep tight Henry" she whispers kissing his forehead before laying down on her own bed. She rests a hand over her stomach. Being in this room brings back memories of another time. She smiles letting those memories drag her into sleep.

_Emma relaxes into the bed at Granny's in what she's come to think of as their room. They've been doing this for months now sneaking off in the middle of the day to come to Granny's for an afternoon of fun and well more. It may have started off as just sex but both woman know that it's become a lot more._

_They have family dinner nights and family day outs together with Henry. They are essentially a couple, they just haven't come out as such. Regina knows Emma's secrets and Emma knows all of Regina's. Their fun afternoons quickly developed into conversations and then coffee and then lunch before coming to their room._

_Emma knows that this is more than sex. She knows that she loves Regina. She smiles as she draws circles on Regina's bare back enjoying the feel of tanned bare skin pressed flush against her own. She loves these moments where Regina just relaxes against her and just is Regina. No fronts, no pretences. Here in this room and with Emma in general she lets herself be. Emma too does not need to be a saviour or a hero, she can just be Emma holding the woman who she fell in love with._

_She can sense this afternoon how tense Regina is. Emma knows the other woman is worried about the curse breaking and what it will mean for them._

_"What are you thinking about?" Emma asks._

_The brunette curls that were pressed tightly against her chest flips up slowly to reveal warm yet anxious honey coloured eyes. "The curse" she says with a deep sigh._

_Emma nods before looking at Regina's expression. She knows what it means, her superpower has had its issues from time to time but with Regina she just always knows. "You know how to break it don't you?"_

_Regina nods, "I do."_

_"And you're worried about doing what it takes to break it?"_

_"I want to break it Emma. I want you to have your family. I just, I'm worried that when the curse breaks and everyone remembers I won't get to be a part of your family anymore."_

_Emma frowns before flashing her a reassuring smile. She gently pulls the shorter woman up so that she can look into Regina's eyes. She runs her thumb over the smooth flesh of a cheek leaving goosebumps in her wake as she speaks, "Regina no matter what happens I'm not going to let anyone hurt you. You are and always will be my family okay?"_

_Regina smiles back leaning into Emma's touch, "You might not be able to stop them"_

_"I will. I will find a way. No-one is going to hurt you and we are going to be together. We'll make sense of everything. I don't care how long it takes to find the answers, all I care about is that you are beside me as we build a new life."_

_"I'll do my best" Regina promises._

_Emma smiles, "So how do you break the curse?"_

_"I don't. It's you Emma. You're the key" Regina says before pulling her close. "I love you" she says and Emma grins giddily before the brunette brings her in for a kiss._

_The kiss that broke the curse. The kiss that whether Regina would admit it to herself or not meant they were both the saviour because lying in each other's arms they started everything._

Snow and Regina make their way through the tunnels, Regina leading the way to make sure Snow does not end up the unintentional victim of any of her booby traps. The last thing they need now is an accidental snare holding them up. She knows they need out of these tunnels and now.

“How much further?” Snow asks from behind her holding onto Regina’s arm. She can tell that the brunette is still exhausted from the magical exertion and whilst she can’t provide any magical boost she can offer a comforting hand.

Regina looks into the darkness of the tunnel, “Hopefully not much farther. We just have to hope Charming and the others aren’t too far away.”

“They won’t be” Snow replies quickly.

“How do you know?” Regina asks stepping over a large piece of rock and turning back to look at the other woman.

Snow shrugs with a smile, “Because we’re his family Regina and Charming isn’t going to go too far without us.”

Regina smiles sadly remembering a time when Emma reassured her that she would never be too far from her. “Your daughter’s the same with people she cares about”

Snow shares the sad smile as they walk as quickly as they can, “She got the Charming stubbornness”

Regina laughs, “Most definitely although I would argue her stubbornness is from both you and your husband”

“I am nowhere near as stubborn as he is” Snow scoffs enjoying the moment of levity between them.

“Charming is stubborn in that he will fight to the end to stay with the ones he cares about. You’re stubborn in that when you care you never stop even if you try to convince yourself you don’t. You don’t give up on people even when they look to be hopeless. You certainly didn’t give up on me.”

Snow smiles stepping closer to her and boldly looping her arm through Regina’s, “I always knew deep down you had good in you, that you just needed love and happiness to bring it out. I see now that I never offered you that in the ways that you needed or that you were willing to receive. Anger was all you had so you closed your heart off.”

Regina nods, “Can I ask why you were so accepting?”

“Pardon?”

“When Emma and I broke the curse I expected you to be a lot more against it. I know you and Charming were to begin with but you came around fast and I just always wondered why?”

Snow laughs, “Because I saw the Regina I had been hoping would re-emerge for years. It’s my stubbornness I guess. I love my daughter and you make her happy. Even if it upset me at first her happiness is more important to me. Plus I knew watching you two that you weren’t that angry vengeful woman pushing us away anymore. I knew you were the Regina that was always in there.”

Regina smiles, “Well thank you dear”

“What for?”

“For making sure she didn’t go away when we got here”

Snow shakes her head, “Regina I don’t think she ever would have. Emma and Henry may be lost to us right now but you’re a lot stronger than you give yourself credit for and I know you would still be Regina. This time round you’re just not alone.”

“It still means a lot” Regina replies smiling warmly at her former stepdaughter turned sort of mother in law and friend, “I can’t help but wonder what Emma’s reaction would be if she saw us like that”

Snow laughs, “She’d probably think we had been replaced by fairytale clones”

Regina laughs as they reach the exit to the tunnel. She steps out into the cold air and harsh sunlight before helping Snow out, “If only” she mutters quietly but Snow catches it regardless. Whatever moment of laughter they had managed to grasp has disappeared with the cool reality of the enchanted forest.

Snow places her hand gently on Regina’s arm again, “Come on, let’s just go find the others Regina.” She waits for the other woman to start walking hoping her husband truly isn’t too far. She may not know what the witch who imprisoned has planned but she can tell they don’t have long to take measures to prevent it. 


	9. Chapter 9

_Penultimate chapter guys. Sorry for the delay but I have a huge backlog of prompts, uni work and updates right now so I can only thank you for your patience and for bearing with me. Thank you for all your reviews, follows and favourites so far. Hope you're enjoying this fic so far and that you like this chapter :)_

Mercifully it does not take long for Snow and Regina to track down the camp, the others having chosen to stay close by and wait for their return. When Charming sees them enter he pulls them both into a hug, Snow happily accepting the embrace whilst Regina stares in shock at first before hesitantly returning the gesture. Charming pulls away from them before placing an arm around his wife. He looks them up and down for any obvious injuries relieved to find none, "Are you both safe? Unhurt?"

Both women nod before Snow speaks, "Zelena imprisoned us but we escaped. We think she plans to kill us."

"Not us" Charming corrects. "We got a visit from her yesterday. She told us you two had escaped. She offered a deal" he says grimly.

"What kind of deal?" Regina asks worried by his tone.

"She told us that she was enacting a new curse, one that would happen in two days. She didn't tell us what it would do."

"Judging by our introductory meeting I imagine she intends to use it to show off her power to Rumple." Regina replies knowing immediately what curse the witch will use. She took over her castle, her clothes, so why not her curse? After all what better way to prove her superior power than by casting Rumple's curse but with her own twist? Now they just have to hope they can beat it.

Snow nods in agreement. "It will take us back."

"How do you know?" Charming asks, "Besides which Rumple is dead."

"I'm guessing not" Regina answers, "She wants to prove to him that she is powerful than I am, that he made a mistake in giving up teaching her to teach me. She'll have found a way to bring him back to ensure her revenge is witnessed. So what was her deal?"

"She said she would let us keep our memories if we gave Regina to her" Belle chimes in.

Regina frowns and pales thinking that she knows their choice. After all she's done to them why wouldn't they sacrifice her to keep their memories? She fears that they will make that choice. Part of her prays and hopes that they won't. Even if they harbour no desire to protect her she knows that Zelena wanting her is for a reason and one that won't be good for any of them.

Snow is the first to speak, "We're not doing it."

Charming nods and agrees surprising the former queen. "You're not?" she asks, the disbelief evident in her tone.

Snow nods determinedly, "Of course we aren't. Regina you're family. Emma and Henry love you. If Zelena wants you it's to kill you or hurt you and we won't let that happen."

Regina smiles warmly feeling the tears well in her eyes, "Thank you" she says and Snow smiles back at her.

"Why does she want Regina?" Charming asks, "Did she give you any hints?"

Regina shakes her head with a frown, "No all I got was a strong sense of resentment and the fact that I look better in my dresses than she does."

"My bet is her wanting you has to do with the curse" Snow replies, a statement met with affirmation by the gathered group. "So what do we do?"

"We have to get Regina away before the curse hits" Charming says.

"If you do you'll lose your memories" Regina warns.

He nods, "We know what we're sacrificing but Regina we don't know what this curse will do. All we know is that the only ones who can save us will be you and Emma. You're the key to saving us Regina. Whilst we will lose our memories or worse we're putting our faith in you to bring us back."

* * *

_"Emma we have to go now" Regina says wishing more than anything they had more time. Emma's expression mirrors her own torn between anguish at their imminent separation and a desperate desire to soak up every last detail of each other._

_Regina knows however that only she will remember._

_Her heart is `breaking but she has to be strong, to keep that secret until they get to the line or Emma will never leave. As much as Regina would love to keep Emma with her she can't. She has to protect her from this curse and make sure Henry's safe. She can give them a good life. She can save them from the curse. Even if it means losing everything._

_Emma chokes back a sob keeping her eyes locked on Regina, "Now?" she asks the tears creeping into her voice. She runs her hand up Regina's arm to keep any form of contact with her. She can't believe she's about to lose Regina. She just needs more time with her, one more touch and one more memory._

_Regina nods wishing she had more time to say all that needs to be said. There isn't because a curse is coming to rip her back to her land. She wishes she could have more time but if she waits they will all be lost and their son will be alone._

_She squeezes Emma's hand tight the entire drive over in the Bug. She claimed to hate this car but right now she would give everything she had to spend one more journey in here. She lets a tear fall as she sees the town line approaching knowing that as soon as they reach it, it will be the end of everything she ever worked for. She just has to hope they will be reunited one day._

* * *

In the end it's only Snow, Charming and Regina who stand over the barren land that used to be Lake Nostos. The others wanted to but recognised a moment that they needed for themselves. A moment for a family to say goodbye once more.

Regina sighs contemplatively as she holds the potion that will open their portal, a portal they hopes will land her in Storybrooke, or at least where Storybrooke used to be. She never imagined she would find it so hard to leave Snow and Charming behind. Over the past few months, however, they have become her family. They were here when she thought she was alone. She finds she will miss Snow. The thought that Snow will forget the past few weeks hurts her even more. She hopes their faith won't be misguided and that she will truly be able to save them.

"Snow I-" she trails off not truly knowing what to say. The other woman nods squeezing her hand gently, "Tell me when I remember"

"I will." Regina promises.

"When we reunite we'll have to have you and Emma over for dinner" Charming vows. He needs something to hold onto here, a promise he can only hope he'll be able to keep.

Regina chuckles sadly before nodding, "I'll make lasagne"

The three share one final hug before Regina pours the potion on the drop of water they had found. She channels her magic envisioning Storybrooke, her son and Emma. She focuses on their faces and the people she is fighting for as she feels the magic swirl around her.

_Just take me back to them_.

* * *

_Her Bug drives past the "Welcome to Storybrooke" sign and Emma can already tell that the kid next to her is from one of those homey small towns. She smiles, this was the kind of place she hoped he would end up, that he would live in one of those tight knit communities she never got a chance to be a part of._

_Emma takes in the town as she drives past noticing the surprisingly old looking style shop fronts. Kinda looks like something from a 80s TV show Emma thinks as she pulls the beat up bug to a stop outside of a large clock tower. She'll admit it does look pretty impressive, were it not for the boarded up library at the bottom._

_She shivers as she steps out of the car missing the spark that flashes as she sets foot in the town. It feels odd as if she has more connection to this place than she knows. Sure her son lives here but still she feels a pull to this place. Just drop Henry off and go back to Boston she reminds herself. No attachments. No pain._

_Eventually after talking to the kid's shrink she gets an address and almost gasps seeing the giant white mansion. Whoa she thinks staring up at the house. Again she breathes a sigh of relief knowing Henry went to someone who could provide for him._

_A brunette comes running out the house and wraps Henry in a hug. He pushes away running past her and she can see the devastation caused by his rejection. Then the woman looks up at her._

_Wow._

_Emma can only muster up a sheepish smile at the stunningly beautiful woman. There's more than just looks that attracts her. It's those eyes battling to put a wall up whilst still looking wildly expressive, darting between fear and relief. She just feels drawn to her. It's why when this Regina asks her in for cider she doesn't just climb into her car and go._

_She enters wondering if this is the day her life begins._

* * *

Emma drives the familiar route to Storybrooke with a smile on her face. She is one step closer to home, to the town she prays is still there. She can picture the town in her mind fresh from her dream last night. She knows that the town is the key. Once she gets into Storybrooke she can find Regina and find her home.

"Are we nearly there Mom?" Henry asks staring out at the vast empty road.

Emma frowns in confusion as she draws the car to a halt. She steps out ignoring Henry's puzzled question as she walks to just before where a red painted line used to be.

"It should be here. It should be right here."


	10. Chapter 10

_Sorry for the delay in updating! My life has been crazy with uni work and fic prompts lately. Thank you for the reviews to the last chapter :) Apologies for any mistakes. I don't own Once or its characters. Hope you like this chapter :)_

There used to be a line right where Emma stands. She wasn't there the day that the dwarves sprayed it in bright orange paint but she saw it often enough. No-one else dared come close to it for fear of losing who they were.

Emma used to come here a lot. A lot more than most people realised.

_Emma sits on top of her Bug as she stares out at that line. She comes here every now and then. She comes here to think, to wonder what would happen if she grabbed her family and took them away from all this._

_She pictures her, Henry and Regina in an apartment somewhere. Boston. Maybe even New York. She thinks that Regina would like the city and she knows Henry would enjoy to see more of the world. She loves it here in Storybrooke but sometimes she watches all the drama and wonders about a simpler life. A life where she isn't the Saviour and there isn't so much pressure. She dreams of a life where she is just Henry's mother and Regina's girlfriend because that is all she needs._

_And yet she never takes that final step._

_There's been a few times she's been close. When the curse broke and everyone clamoured for Regina's head on a plate. When Snow tricked Regina into killing Cora. When they got back from Neverland and were faced with Pan's threat._

_There were so many times when Emma thought she could just pack Regina and Henry up and take them away to a better life. A life where they could be free and happy and not have to worry about curses and mythic monsters. She yearned for a simple life._

_And yet she never drives her Bug over that line._

_She can never bring herself to._

_She can't because she knows whatever happens she can't stay away from Storybrooke. No matter what drama may occur this town brought her something she never had before. It gave her a home. She has a true love and a son. She has family and friends. She's a part of a community and for once she has people to support her._

_She can't bring herself to leave the place that gave her that._

Emma sits down where the line used to be. She crosses her legs remembering the days she used to come here and dream of leaving. Regina gave her that dream but it was not complete. It was a dream but a dream that once she woke up from she had to leave behind.

It didn't have Regina.

It didn't have her parents or her friends.

It wasn't her home.

Their life was amazing. She got to be Henry's mother in all the ways she never had the chance to be. She got the gift of memory. She can picture all the firsts and little things she missed. She has Regina to thank for that.

Even when they couldn't have the happy ending they talked about Regina still gave her the things she desired most. She gave her a life where she was just a mother and a bailbondsperson. No fairytale characters come to life. No great mythic evils turned real. No constant threats to her family. It should have been perfect.

And it was. It was until she dreamed and remembered just why that dream was incomplete. It was empty because the biggest part of it was missing.

Henry watches his mother curiously seeing how she sits cross-legged on the floor and stares out at the empty road. He doesn't understand. She says Storybrooke should be right here and yet all he sees is forest and a road winding through it. There's no town here. For a split second he wonders if maybe they were wrong, if their dreams were just dreams.

He climbs out of the car before sitting next to his Mom. "Ma, what are we doing?" he asks. He's not sure he wants the answer if it means giving up. He can tell by Emma's expression that she'll never give up, that to her a missing town is just an obstacle to overcome.

"I just need a minute" Emma replies. One more minute and maybe something will happen. She can't give up on Regina. She can't give up her hope. Something has to happen. She lost a year with Regina. She lost a year they could have had for their happy ending. She can wait a few more minutes for something to happen.

If she's truly the saviour then surely she gets a happy ending too? Emma likes to hope she does. She also knows from Henry that sometimes they take a little magic. She knows it must look weird to him, just sitting and waiting but she cannot leave yet. She's waiting for magic.

She's waiting for Regina.

_Jumping through a vortex for the second time is nowhere near as disorienting as the first time. Then again the first time was a complete accident. This time Emma jumps with a purpose. She jumps so she can get back to Regina and Henry. They need her and she's not spending another minute here in the Enchanted Forest if she can help it._

_Magic swirls around them and she and Snow appear in the bottom of the well. As they do she just catches their purple smoke clashing with a green smoke leaving them in the water. She can hear a croaked apology from Regina as she begins to climb._

_Emma works her way up the coarse wall feeling it scratch into her palms and upper arms. She doesn't care. Her family are just over the top. She would climb 1000 miles and more if it meant Regina and Henry were at the top._

_After a beanstalk this is a piece of cake._

_This climb has a sweeter reward._

_Emma smiles practically sobbing in relief as she reaches the top. Her arm hits cold stone and she lifts herself up. The first thing she sees is Henry's stunned smile. "Mom" he breathes out in pleased shock before running to her. Her feet just about hit the ground and she grins as he hugs her. "Henry" she says holding him tight. She kisses the top of his head soaking in the moment of being back with him again._

_She looks up from him before seeing Regina crumpled on the ground. She freezes, her blood running cold before looking down at Henry. "What's going on?" she asks._

_"Mom. She took in a death curse to save you," Henry replies still hugging Emma's waist tightly. "Is she okay?"_

_Emma doesn't answer. Instead she waddles over, Henry clinging to her side before she kneels down beside the fallen brunette. She runs her thumb over Regina's cheek and a tear rolls down her own cheek as the woman doesn't react._

_"Come on Regina. Don't do this. I just came back. We're going to be together remember? Wake up." Emma says softly before bending down to kiss Regina. She's heard stories of true love and its power. For Regina she has to try._

_She smiles as she feels the wave of magic and hears the gasp tumbling from Regina's lips. She pulls away with a watery grin, "Hey" she says._

_Regina chuckles, "Hey."_

Regina closes her eyes as the magic whirls around her. It’s been a long time since she portal-jumped. She hasn’t done it since her trip to Wonderland. She hasn’t particularly wanted to. Transporting from one realm to another is exhausting and in her experience typically painful.

This time she hopes it will be different.

It will be worth the agony of a year apart and the way the magic rushes around her in a terrifying spin.

It will be worth it because on the other side she’ll be able to find Emma and Henry. If they’ve worked things out correctly she will land where their town used to be. From there she doesn’t know what will happen.

She needs to make Emma remember and then they can save the others from the new curse. She needs to find her family and her one true home.

She doesn’t know how to do those things but she knows she must.

She must because she has a family to get back to and a happy ending she wants to live.

Regina blinks as hits cold muddy ground. She groans as the smoke dissipates before breaking out in a relieved sob. She can see road. Not just any road but the same road she watched a yellow Bug drive away on a year ago.

The road might mean sorrow but it also means home. She turns the other way seeing nothing but road and forest. Storybrooke is well and truly gone. On one level she knew this but seeing it feels so strange. She just expected it all to be there. Her eyes well up a she realises that the land she built, her home, has disappeared truly. 

“It’s gone” she whispers. When she closes her eyes she can still picture the town where she lived, where she raised her son and met her true love. She can replay images from their moments together: lunches in Granny’s diner; picnics and strolls in the park; sneaking around in the Sheriff’s station; Emma surprising her in her office; movie nights and snuggling in her mansion. So many moments all in a town now gone. Storybrooke, like her memories, live only with her now.

She stands slowly and whirls around. She needs to find somewhere to sleep, to eat, to think. She looks down at her clothes, still the ones she wore in the Enchanted Forest, and is hit by the reality that she does not exist here. She has no means of survival. She has no identity here other than in Storybrooke and now that is gone too.

_What the hell am I going to do?_  

For the time being she keeps walking. She walks forward until she hears something that can’t be real.

“Regina” the voice carries on the wind like a whisper but it’s not possible. She thinks her mind must be playing a cruel trick on her. Emma doesn’t remember. She’s in New York living a new life with their son. She can’t be here.  _It must be an illusion_.

She closes her eyes to see if she can will the cruel trick away but instead the voice just grows clearer. She dares not open her eyes and see the crushing reality. She can’t open her eyes and see that it is just an illusion and nothing more.

Then fingertips graze along her cheeks.

Her heart skips a beat. Surely her mind could not conjure that touch up? No illusion is that real. Still she dares not break the spell that has fallen over her. After a year of torment there is finally a soothing familiar touch.

“Regina” the voice says again and she lets herself be swept away by that sound she never thought she’d hear again.

She still does not dare to open her eyes.

Then soft lips press against her own. She doesn’t need to open her eyes to know they’re Emma’s. She’d know Emma anywhere. She knows the contours of her mouth and the texture and taste of her lips. She knows the silky blonde curls that hang around soft cheeks. She knows Emma.

She feels a rush of energy around them but doesn’t care. She doesn’t question how Emma recognised her or how she knew to kiss her. All she cares about is that Emma is here and that she is. She kisses back before finally opening her eyes. They feel with tears as she sees Emma’s face, the face that has haunted her dreams for a year.

“You’re here.”

“I’m here” Emma says gazing into the face from her dreams. Regina let her go but she still never forgot. Even though she didn’t know it Regina was always there and somehow she’s here. She’s here with Emma. She waited for magic and it came. She doesn’t care how.

They’ll be time for questions and answers. Right now all they care about is that they’re both here. Emma pulls Regina in tight as her memories return to her. “I missed you so much.”

“You didn’t remember me” Regina reminds her.

“I still knew you were missing. You were in my dreams. You were always there Regina. I love you.” Emma says holding Regina’s face in her hands. She drinks in every detail knowing she will never leave Regina again.

Regina smiles brightly, “I love you too. I missed you. I missed you and Henry with all my heart.”

“We’re never going to leave you again I promise.”

“And I’ll never let you go again” Regina promises in return. 

_Next chapter will be the epilogue. Thank you for reading :)_


	11. Epilogue

_Hi all. We've reached the epilogue of this story. I just wanted to say thank you all for reviewing, following, favouriting and just reading this story so far. I hope you've enjoyed it and that you like this epilogue :)_

Emma smiles as she wakes. She smiles because this morning she doesn't wake up alone. Instead the woman who haunted her dreams is here with her. She props herself up on her elbow and studies the brunette's sleeping face. Emma loves how serene Regina looks in the early morning light and god she's missed it.

They've both missed so much.

There's still so many questions that they don't have answers to. The fate of the rest of their family and friends is still unknown. They have no idea what Zelena is planning or how to stop her, just that they must. They have no idea how to get to the others to save them.

All Emma knows is that they can find the answers together.

Regina stirs slowly revelling in being held by Emma again. After a year apart, of loneliness and separation, she soaks up every second of being here. She knows they have a long fight ahead. They still need to find everyone else and put a stop to Zelena. They have to hope the others remember. Right now she just wants to enjoy this moment.

She, Emma and Henry spent last night in this motel room filling each other in on their respective years. Mercifully their kiss brought back, not just Emma's memories but, Henry's too. They all spent a lot of time hugging and just talking for as long as they could. They all knew that what they are about to face will be difficult and so they took advantage of one night of peace, the night where they all found each other again.

No matter what may lay ahead they're a family again and none of them will let anything change that again.

Regina yawns before waking up properly to see Emma watching her, "Hey" she mumbles sleepily and Emma smiles.

"You have no idea how happy I am to hear you say that."

Regina laughs, "All I said was hey."

"Yeah but you're here to say it."

"I'm here," Regina replies with a smile. She leans up to kiss Emma, "I love you so much."

Emma grins, "I love you too. What do we do now?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean with finding everyone else and saving them. How do we do it?"

Regina shrugs, "I don't know. Just together."

Emma holds out her pinky, "Together."

Regina smiles hooking her pinky finger around Emma's, "Always."

* * *

"You okay in there?" Emma asks as she knocks on the bathroom door. In the end she had to lend Regina some of her clothes to wear since her Enchanted Forest get-up was a tad conspicuous.

"Fine dear" Regina calls from the other side of the door. She huffs pulling the skinny jeans up over her legs before inching away from the dingy tile of the motel. This bathroom is certainly a far cry from her bathroom back in Storybrooke. In fact were she given a choice between this motel bathroom and a hut in the Enchanted Forest she's not sure which one she'd choose.

Emma chuckles to herself before sitting on her bed across from Henry.

"How you doing kid?" she asks as he flips through the book Regina sent through to them.

He gives her a small smile, "She was always there Ma. Even when we didn't remember she never gave up."

"Of course she didn't Henry," Emma replies. She knew Regina would never give up on them.

"I just, I can't believe I ever thought she didn't love me. She loves us so much Ma. I'm really glad we're all back together."

"Hey you know us kid, we always find each other," Emma says with a chuckle.

Henry laughs, "Don't let Mom hear you say that."

"Why? Our family always finds each other and she's part of our family. She should be honoured."

"Yeah I'm not sure she'll see it that way. It'll probably be more 'Miss Swan don't apply your parents' asinine catchphrase to us'" Henry says doing an eerily good impression of his mother that both impresses and freaks out Emma.

"That's spooky kid," Emma says, "But a damn good impression of your Mom. Don't tell her I said that."

Henry laughs, "I doubt even you could end up on the couch so soon Ma."

"I hope not," Emma replies. She means that. She has on occasion wound up on the couch, though normally Regina would end up dragging her back upstairs, and she would much rather stay with Regina.

Henry nods before looking back down at the book, "I missed her. I didn't realise it but I missed her so much."

Emma nods in understanding before moving to sit next to him. She slings an arm around his growing shoulders, "I missed her too and your Mom missed us. We all missed a lot but I promise Henry that none of us are ever going to miss a thing again."

"Good because I want us to be together for a bit longer this time."

"You and me both kid" Emma says before hugging him. She ruffles his hair as Regina walks out of the bathroom. She smiles at the pair taking in the sight of them together. God she has missed this so much. She loves Snow and Charming and they were wonderful to her in the Enchanted Forest but it's nothing compared to this. This is her family.

She walks over, "Am I interrupting something?"

"Never," Emma says before looking up to see Regina clad in dark blue skinnies, a black tank top with a long sleeve green shirt over it and boots. "Wow."

"What?"

"You should wear my clothes more often," Emma says before tugging Regina down to kiss her.

Regina kisses her back before sitting down next to her, "I don't know about that dear. I'm fairly certain I won't be able to get these off."

Emma grins. "I'm sure I can help you," she says with a wink and Henry groans, "Gross."

"Sorry Henry," Regina says before moving to hug her son who is so much taller than she remembers. She holds on a little longer than she would before through fear that he could slip away. Henry doesn't mind. He's missed her hugs. He's missed her.

"I missed you Mom," he says.

"I missed you too my little prince." At the nickname he smiles and Regina beckons for Emma to join their hug.

The three hug for several moments before Henry breaks it, "So what's our next move?"

Emma grins conspiratorially, "We start a new operation."

"One to find our family and break another curse." Regina adds.

"Yes! A family operation! Operation Cobra Rescue reunites" Henry cheers excitedly. "Okay our first step is to find Storybrooke and our family. Then we need to gather intel about Zelena and then figure out a way to defeat her."

"Woah kid slow down" Emma says, "How about we start with Step One? Find Storybrooke."

* * *

Emma drives the same route she did yesterday.

This time however she has her memories. So does Henry.

This time she has Regina sitting in the passenger seat beside her.

This time when they cross that line they’ll be looking for clues without any idea what they’ll find.

Regina stiffens as they approach the road. “What’s wrong?” Emma asks worriedly pulling the car to a stop to look at her love.

“Can’t you feel it?” Regina asks.

“What?”

“Magic” Regina says, “Something has changed since we were here yesterday.”

“Okay,” Emma replies knowing that of all the people in this car Regina would know, “Kid be alert okay?”

He nods, “Operation Cobra Rescue is ago and the Swan Prince is ready. Are” he pauses before saying the nicknames his mothers gave each other, “Mama Bear and Saviour Bear ready?”  _My name is definitely the coolest_  he thinks.

Emma smiles at the nickname, “Ready”

Regina grins at the name given to her by Emma, “Ready.”

Emma takes Regina’s hand as they drive closer to the line. All three gasp as they see the familiar beat up sign.

Henry is the first to speak as they drive towards a town that looks familiar and yet still is different, “It’s back. It’s all back.”

“It is,” Regina says, “But something’s wrong.” 

_And that's the epilogue. I have a sequel planned if people are interested?_

_Thank you all for reading this story and for all your feedback :)_


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